Friday, June 03, 2011

Local Council Official Screws 100 Year old Lady

Channel Seven have reported the appalling incompetence of a local council, which promised a 100 year old lady that she'd get a telegram from the Queen. And then failed to deliver.

100 years seems about the same amount of time it takes many councils to issue Development Approvals and perform other basic council tasks. Indeed, it seems the only thing most councils are very good at, is writing parking tickets, collecting tens of millions of dollars above and beyond rates revenue. Oh, and solving the Middle East conflict.

When Barry O'Farrell came to power in NSW, he promised to abolish Part 3A of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, return planning powers to local councils. Previously, the Minister had the authority to approve certain projects despite council objection. The NSW Labor Government had corrupted this process, like so many others.

In theory, returning planning to local communities is a good idea. In practice however, most local councils are completely hopeless and should simply be shut down and amalgamated into super-councils. Not given more power. You don't reward incompetence.

2 Comments:

PG said...

"most local councils are completely hopeless and should simply be shut down and amalgamated into super-councils"

Then we would have super-useless councils. The problems with these bludgers and self serving parasites is they pay little respect to property rights and the rule of law. Increasingly we are regulated and charged way beyond the true economic value of any project we would wish to undertake yet they still can't properly manage the most basic services they are obliged to provide.

There's no real benefit in 90% of the paperwork required to build a simple house or add an extension but these oxygen thieves not only keep lifting the compliance bar, they keep moving it. B graders and power trippers who would be unemployable in the real world.

(Recites serenity prayer and puts the kettle on the environmentally friendly cow dung heater/cooker in the corner of the cave).